UN envoy welcomes new funding to finance global health targets

7 March 2013  United Nations envoy Ray Chambers today highlighted the critical impact that new funding announced by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will have in achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the 2015 deadline.

Last week the Global Fund announced that up to $1.9 billion in additional resources will be made immediately available over the next year that will potentially save millions of lives.

“When it comes to preserving the existence of our precious children throughout the world, the Global Fund is one of the most important investors, measuring its return on investment in lives saved,” said Mr. Chambers, who has served as the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria since 2008.

“I call on all donors to urgently increase their indispensable pipeline of resources so that a fully replenished Global Fund can lead us in achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” he added, in his first statement since Mr. Ban expanded his role to Special Envoy for the Financing of the Health-related Millennium Development Goals.

In his expanded role, Mr Chambers is tasked with helping to increase funding from the public and private sectors to achieve the goals to reduce child and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis and other diseases by the target date of 2015.

Approximately 75 million additional insecticide-treated bed nets will be purchased with part of the new funding, protecting 150 million people, according to a news release issued by the Special Envoy’s office.

When added to the existing 66 million nets already scheduled for financing and distribution this year, the lives of over 1 million children will be saved from malaria, placing the Secretary-General’s goal of decreasing malaria deaths to near zero by the end of 2015 in even closer reach.

An additional $1 billion will now be made available for HIV/AIDS and another $200 million for TB programming, above and beyond existing funding.